


What's an Emoji?

by dancefantasy



Category: Tomb Raider (Video Games)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Gen, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29365509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancefantasy/pseuds/dancefantasy
Summary: Lara teaches Sofia a bit about modern technology.
Relationships: Lara Croft & Sofia (Tomb Raider)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	What's an Emoji?

"Lara! I just remembered. Your phone was in my bag when we got separated." Jonah approached Lara and handed her cellphone to her. "I'm sure there's no signal out here to be of any use, but I figured it should be given back to the right hands."

"Thank you for keeping it safe, Jonah," Lara said appreciatively as she accepted the device.

"Hey, thank _you_ for keeping _me_ safe!" Jonah laughed warmly before letting his friend get back to strategizing with Sofia. They were plotting the best course back to the gulag to reseize the remaining resources Trinity had taken from the Remnant over the years. It would be a long and careful trek back there, and an even more complicated journey for Lara and Jonah when they left to go back to England after that. It was quite necessary to plan things out.

But the normally focused Sofia was suddenly less interested in maps and coordinates. She eyed the item in Lara's hand with curiosity. "A 'phone?' I think I've heard of those. My father said they're like our radios here."

Lara realized that there must have been a lot of modern things that Sofia and the others had missed out on. So, she offered to demonstrate. "That's right, they're used for communication. But they can do a lot more than a radio can. I'll show you, if there's any battery left."

Sofia blinked in wonder and intrigue as Lara powered the device on. The glowing screen and bright colors were surprising to someone who had lived her whole life around only more analog technology. "Are those words?" She asked, peering over Lara's shoulder. The letters were so small, and the glare on the shiny screen didn't help. She had always found Greek easier to read than English, anyway.

They were old text messages from Jonah that Lara had opened up to show her. "Yes, these can send written messages to each other. Like letters, but instant. And you just have to tap on the screen instead of using a pen."

"What do those other symbols mean?"

"Oh, the emojis?"

"'Emojis?'" Sofia repeated strangely as if it was a Russian word she had never been taught before.

"They're little images you can use in place of words. See, Jonah likes to send smiling faces to show that he's happy. But look at how many different kinds there are." Lara handed her phone to Sofia, who began scrolling through the expansive list of emojis with a bit of awkward effort as she got used to the way it worked.

"What do some of these mean? Why would you need to use these instead of words?"

Lara had to agree with the apparent absurdity of it all. Consequently, it was difficult to answer Sofia. "Excellent question. I'm honestly not quite sure. People use them for fun."

Sofia was quiet for a few moments, tapping away at the emojis that seemed to interest her. "I still do not understand. But this is very fascinating, and I would like to learn more. My people have a lot to learn about the world now that we aren't bound to this valley."

"We should hurry to reclaim Trinity's resources then, to make sure you all continue to have a good chance at survival."

"...You're right." Sofia, initially reluctant, agreed and gave Lara her cellphone back. It was exciting to try something so foreign and new, but she had to focus on being a leader in this critical time. "I think the plan we have here will work well. You can go tell the others to prepare to leave soon."

Lara quickly began leaving to carry out her new task, but Sofia spoke again.

"Lara. I'll have to get one of these 'phones' sometime. To send you those little pictures."

"That would be great," Lara agreed with a smile. "I'd be sure to send you some too."

Sofia just nodded slightly before turning back to the map. The time for casual conversation was clearly over, so Lara continued on her way. But she gave her phone one more quick glance to see what Sofia had managed to type.

"soofia🤫🐦🖐🌲☀"

 _Pretty good for a beginner_ , Lara thought with some fond pride in her "student" of texting. Sofia and the other people of the village were delightfully intelligent. And the moment had been a nice break from how serious everything usually was.

Everyone was learning new things lately as different worlds collided. Some were more trivial than others, but it was all wonderful regardless. Lara was happy to bond with Sofia in any way, now that her initial problems with the archaeologist had gone away. After everything bad that had happened, they could definitely use each other's friendship. And maybe a few smiley faces.


End file.
